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enQuiz! Name the 2015/16 Championship's top goal contributorsWhich players grabbed at least 10 goals and assists combined last season?http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/quiz-name-201516-championships-top-goal-contributors
So, how good is your memory of last season's Championship campaign then? Nay, how good is your knowledge of the Championship full stop?
We've pulled together the 60 players from last term who got at least 10 goals or assists combined– and it's your job to name them, using the club(s) they played for as clues.
How many are you up to getting? Let us know how you fare @FourFourTwo and we'll shout out your scores (but don't tell everyone the answers you didn't get, OK?). Then challenge your mates to see if they can do better.
(Please note: Using an ad blocker? You won't see the quiz unless you turn it off *shakes fist*.)
FourFourTwo’s Best 100 Football Players in the World 2016•More brain-stretching quizzes
featureWed, 30 Nov 2016 12:51:47 +0000Joe Brewin657547 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comWhat next for Stevie G? Here’s what 9 long-serving Liverpool heroes did after leavingHe wont be the next MK Dons boss, but his playing career is now officially over. Reds history suggests good things for the 36-year-old but its probably not a good idea togive Princess Anne a squeeze, writes Jon SpurlingJon Spurlinghttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/what-next-stevie-g-heres-what-9-long-serving-liverpool-heroes-did-after-leaving
With a hefty 710 matches under his belt, Steven Gerrard sits third in Liverpool's all-time appearance list. And, like the others who made more outings for the Reds than they've had plates of Scouse, Stevie G now has to decide what to do next.
Management? Punditry? Getting touchy-feely with royalty? Here's what nine other Liverpool legends did next after the roar of the Kop finally died away...
1. Ian Callaghan
1959-78
After clocking up 857 appearances and a frankly ludicrous number of medals (17 all in), the underrated midfielder left Anfield aged 36 and thoroughly enjoyed himself, winding down his career in the USA with Fort Lauderdale and Australia with Canberra City.
Yet just to show that Cally was still up for a challenge, he played under former team-mate John Toshack at Swansea as they surged up through the leagues, before clocking off at Crewe in 1982 at the grand old age of 40.
"You're a long time retired," insisted Callaghan, who was also rewarded a retrospective World Cup winner’s medal in 2009 at Downing Street after an FA campaign to reward commemorate entire England squad. Well deserved for Liverpool's unassuming legend.
2. Jamie Carragher
1996-2013
A boyhood Everton fan, Carragher notched 737 turnouts for Liverpool, the highlight coming in the Reds' incredible defeat of Milan in the 2005 Champions League Final.
Despite collecting some coaching badges and appearing in the England U17 dugout a year ago, Carra has thus far eschewed a managerial career, declaring: "It chews people up."
The ex-centre-back has instead preferred to work as a Sky Sports pundit alongside Gary Neville, whose horror stories about his ill-fated spell as Valencia coach may well convince the ex-Liverpool stalwart to remain in the studio for the foreseeable future. Nobody would mind– he's good at it.
3. Ray Clemence
1967-81
After a glittering Anfield career spanning 11 trophy-laden years, Clemence opted for a move south to Tottenham in 1981, where he won the FA Cup a year later.
After a short spell managing Barnet, Clemence became a highly respected goalkeeping coach with the FA and worked under England managers including Glenn Hoddle, Sven-Goran Eriksson and Roy Hodgson.
'Clem,' who was also a regular radio football pundit, finally retired in 2013, his influence as great in coaching coaches as it had been during his playing days.
Next page: Player, personality and Princess Anne4. Emlyn Hughes
1967-79
Although he claimed "Everything will be an anti-climax after playing for Liverpool", Emlyn 'Crazy Horse' Hughes packed a lot in after finally calling time on his Anfield career when approaching his 32nd birthday in 1979.
Not only did he win the League Cup as Wolves skipper, he also player-managed unfancied Rotherham to within four points of promotion to Division One in 1982.
It was, however, his TV appearances as captain on A Question Of Sport (which included giving Princess Anne a squeeze in 1987) and forthright opinions – delivered in his trademark high-pitched voice – that Hughes remains best known for in his post-Liverpool career.
"I've had a wonderful career both inside and outside of football," insisted the bullish former Liverpool and England skipper, shortly before he died from a brain tumour in 2004.
5. Ian Rush
1980-86 and 1988-96
Having plundered an incredible 346 goals in 660 appearances for the Reds in two spells between 1981 and 1996, Rush's goal touch disappeared after leaving Anfield. Unsuccessful spells at Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield United, Wrexham and Sydney Olympic featured only occasional net-ripplers in the four years up to his retirement in 2000.
After initially injecting some life back into former club Chester City as coach in the 2004/05 campaign (despite former Liverpool team-mates suggesting his natural shyness would be a hindrance), Rush resigned following a disappointing string of results a few months later.
He lost out on the Peterborough job to former Liverpool team-mate Mark Wright and has since done odds and ends in the punditry world for ESPN, Sky Sports and LFC TV, before returning to Liverpool as soccer school ambassador.
6. Phil Neal
1974-85
After occupying the right-back spot at Liverpool for over 11 years and making 650 apperance, Neal took on the toughest of post-Anfield assignments by joining fallen giants Bolton Wanderers as player-manager in 1985. Four years later, the Trotters suffered relegation to the Fourth Division for the only time in their history.
Neal then lasted 18 months as boss of Premier League Coventry (where he oversaw a famous 4-0 win over eventual champions Manchester United), but he's perhaps best remembered for his role as Graham Taylor’s hapless assistant during England’s ill-fated quest to reach USA 94, preserved for its ghoulish posterity on the Impossible Job.
Next page: Who bought the Cavern Club?7. Tommy Smith
1962-78
Anfield hardman Smith may have been “quarried, not born” according to Bill Shankly, but after bowing out of Anfield after the last of his 638 games in the 1978 European Cup Final, Smith meandered his way to Swansea via Los Angeles, where he played 12 matches for the Aztecs.
At the Vetch Field he helped Swansea gain promotion from the old Third Division under the tutelage of former Liverpool striker John Toshack. Smith attracted controversy for his comments on black players (especially former team-mate Howard Gayle) in the late 1980s, dabbled in coaching and wrote a weekly column for the Liverpool Echo until 2014.
Smith also purchased the lease to the Cavern Club in 1980, but ditched it after making minimal profit. In 1996, Smith’s benefit payments (he suffered from arthritis in his knees and hips) were temporarily stopped after he took a penalty in a half-time charity game during the FA Cup final between Liverpool and Manchester United.
8. Bruce Grobbelaar
1981-94
During his colourful and sometimes controversial 13-year career at Anfield, goalkeeper Grobbelaar turned out on 628 (always memorable) occasions, winning 19 medals for Liverpool.
The Zimbabwean shot-stopper played for no fewer than nine other clubs following his departure in 1996; one of those was Southampton, a spell which coincided with him being accused of match-fixing by The Sun after being caught on videotape discussing rigged games.
The tabloid appealed after Grobbelaar was initially awarded £85,000 in damages, which led to the House of Lords slashing his award to £1 and ordering him to pay costs of £500,000, a ruling that left the player bankrupt.
He's managed several clubs in South Africa since retirement, as well as appearing on an episode of Hell’s Kitchen and most recently working alongside Paul Dalglish as goalkeeping coach at Canadian side Ottawa Fury.
9. Alan Hansen
1977-91
Hansen won eight league titles, two FA Cups, three European Cups and wore the Liverpool shirt 620 times before retiring in March 1991.
Over the next three years, the Scot was linked with managerial jobs at Huddersfield, Manchester City and then Liverpool in 1994, but chose instead to work for the BBC – firstly on the radio as a pundit, then for Match Of The Day as the Premier League era began.
During his 22 years on the show he was famed for his (often) withering analysis of defences’ capabilities, and combined his TV work with penning columns for the Daily Telegraph. Hansen even found the time to pop up on Walkers Crisps and Carlsberg adverts.
“I always thought football management was a mug’s game," he said when he retired from punditry in 2014. "I pondered it a while back, but I wouldn’t touch it with a bargepole.”
New features every day on FourFourTwo.com • More Liverpool
featureThu, 24 Nov 2016 11:35:35 +0000Joe Brewin654798 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comGerrard admits speaking to MK Dons over managerial vacancyAs he weighs up his future in football, Steven Gerrard reveals that he spoke with MK Dons, who are on the lookout for a new manager.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/gerrard-admits-speaking-mk-dons-over-managerial-vacancy
Steven Gerrard has admitted that he held talks with League One side MK Dons over their vacant managerial position.
The former Liverpool and England midfielder is considering his future in the game – whether to play on or go into coaching – after his departure from LA Galaxy was confirmed last week.
But the 36-year-old felt it is not the right time to start a managerial career with the Dons, who currently sit in the relegation zone of the third tier of English football and parted company with Karl Robinson last month.
"I spoke to them [MK Dons]. I had a chat with the chairman, I think it's a very exciting job for someone else," Gerrard told BT Sport.
"But it's a bit soon for me, but it is true I did speak to them yes."
Gerrard – who has also been linked with Celtic – reflected on his time with the Galaxy with mixed emotions, having exited the play-offs following a penalty shoot-out defeat to Colorado Rapids.
He said: "It was very enjoyable.
"Unfortunately we never won the MLS this season. We got to the semi-finals and got knocked out on penalties, so slightly disappointed with how it finished, but it was still very enjoyable.
"I'm taking a bit of time to consider what's next. Exciting times moving forward."
news_articleWed, 23 Nov 2016 20:43:53 +0000Anonymous654853 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comGerrard to MK Dons? 10 superstars who suffered nightmares in lower-league dugoutsGoing down the leagues to make your name as a manager isnt easy. And if you fail once, writes Richard Edwards, youre lucky if you get another crack at it...Richard Edwardshttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/gerrard-mk-dons-10-superstars-who-suffered-nightmares-lower-league-dugouts
10. Tony Adams, Wycombe, 2003
“I’ve been enjoying my sports science degree at university, which I’m halfway through, but it feels right to be here now,” said Tony Adams at his Wycombe unveiling in November 2003. Club director Alan Parry clearly felt the same.
“We had the same feelings when Martin O’Neill walked in here,” he said. The current Republic of Ireland boss walked out of Adams Park a hero, having successfully navigated the club into the Football League. Adams took them in the opposite direction, overseeing relegation from League One.
That said, he was hardly given a huge budget to turn around this sinking ship. “One day I lost a player because the chairman refused to pay the £90 he wanted for a TV licence,” he would later tell The Daily Mail. Spells at Portsmouth and Gabala followed. Success didn’t.
9. Bobby Moore, Southend United, 1984
Moore's limited spell in management and coaching remains an irremovable stain on his career. And if the World Cup-winning captain thought a stint at Roots Hall in the mid-80s would boost his chances of getting a job elsewhere he was left sorely disappointed. First appointed as manager in February 1984 – just months after being named the club’s chief executive –he steadied the ship but left his role just two years later with the Shrimpers anchored in Fourth Division obscurity. “I don’t know what the future holds,” he said on his departure. It was his last managerial job.
8. Peter Shilton, Plymouth, 1992
Shilton was still playing when he left Derby and headed south to join Plymouth as player-manager. “I see the job as a tremendous challenge,” he said in March 1992. He couldn’t have been more right. The Pilgrims were relegated from the Second Division just two months later, Shilton’s reign little short of disastrous. His rapport with chairman Dan McCauley made the relationship between Russia and Ukraine look positively cordial, while his players, bizarrely, were threatened with a fine if they offered an opinion of their own in interviews. In fairness, his Plymouth side scored goals aplenty but when gates dipped to a nine-year low, Shilton was off – and never to return to management again.
Next page: Charlton at Preston7. Bobby Charlton, Preston
“I have always admired Preston and I think the club has tremendous possibilities,” said Charlton in May 1973. But after the Lilywhites were relegated from the Second Division in his first season in charge, the England legend was on a hiding to nothing. He even decided to don the boots again to demonstrate the art of goalscoring to his hapless side, scoring his 200th league goal against Walsall in September 1974 – a strike which proved a rare highlight in an otherwise unforgettable reign. He resigned in the summer of 1975 over the sale of club captain John Bird to Newcastle. “It has been a matter of principle,” he said. He was never tempted into returning.
6. Tommy Lawton, Brentford
As a goalscorer, the princely Lawton towered above his peers. When it came to decision making? Not so much. Lawton’s decision to leave Chelsea for Third Division Notts County in 1947 remains one of the most baffling in history, and his first foray into management caused equal amounts of head scratching. A number of high-profile sides were rumoured to be queuing up to offer him a return to the top flight, but when he did move, in 1952, it wasn’t to Old Trafford or Highbury but to Brentford’s Griffin Park. “There was no smooth transition to management,” wrote Ivan Ponting in The Independent’s Lawton obituary in November 1996. “He was booed for the first time in his life, to which he took grave exception, and before long he resigned.”
5. Kerry Dixon, Doncaster
Former boss Sammy Chung didn’t even know Dixon had been appointed until he opened the door to his former office and found the former Chelsea and England man sat behind his desk just 90 minutes before the opening game of the 1996/97 season. Dixon remained in charged for a full season at the club’s then-home, Belle Vue, but left after three games of the following campaign. An 8-0 League Cup humping by Nottingham Forest proved to be the final straw. He went down fighting, though, insisting the team for that game wasn’t picked by him but by chairman Ken Richardson.
4. Ian Rush, Chester City
Former team-mate Mark Lawrenson expressed doubts about Rush’s ability to cut it in management before the ink was dry on his contract at Chester City – although the Welshman gave his ex-colleague, and presumably former friend, short shrift. “What he said was an insult not only to me, but to those running Chester who I know interviewed many outstanding candidates before they appointed me.” As it was, Lawro’s punditry career comfortably outlasted Rush’s in management, although in mitigation Chester were already well on the road to disaster when he took over in August 2004. It remains his sole spell in management. Once bitten, twice shy.
Next page: Davids and his executive orders3. Stanley Matthews, Port Vale
As a flying winger, Matthews, the Wizard of Dribble, was quite simply magic. And when he called time on his astonishing career at the age of 50 – think (roughly) Jurgen Klopp running out at Anfield in a figure-hugging shirt rather than a tracksuit – he decided, quite naturally, that a career in management beckoned. As it was, his three-year stint at Port Vale was a complete shocker. The club was fined for financial irregularities and was turfed out of the league. All without Matthews ever claiming a penny in wages. He too would never set foot in the dugout again.
2. Chris Sutton, Lincoln City
Once English football’s most expensive player when he signed for Blackburn from Norwich for £5m, Sutton was also labelled one of English football's most difficult characters, making him perfect managerial material. FFT can confirm that this persona was more fiction than fact, but he had little to smile about at Sincil Bank. He resigned in September 2010, a year after taking the job, citing ‘personal reasons’. He hasn't taken the reins anywhere else.
1. Edgar Davids, Barnet
No one saw the appointment of the former Netherlands international coming, and even fewer thought he would hang around when the club were relegated to the Conference under his watch. After relegation he took the No.1 shirt, claiming he would "start a trend" by doing so. Nevertheless, nobody could accuse Davids of taking an easy route into management and even fewer could claim he didn’t have the club’s best interests at heart. He played 36 league matches for the Bees and resigned in January with the club just three points off a play-off place. Whether he gets –or wants –another shot at management remains to be seen.
READ THIS10 of the stupidest shirt numbers ever
Read more at http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/10-stupidest-shirt-numbers-ever#rwFdqFuPT7igQL4f.99
Lovely listicles • New features you'd like every day on FourFourTwo.com
featureFri, 18 Nov 2016 14:28:29 +0000Joe Brewin291097 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comWho to start with on Football Manager 2017? EVERY English league team's starting transfer and wage budgetNot sure who to begin your shiny new game of Football Manager 2017 with? Let us be your financial guides...http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/who-start-football-manager-2017-every-english-league-teams-starting-transfer-and-wage
Time to kiss goodbye to your social life, put relationships at risk, disconnect yourself from that awful real world everybody talks about and settle down in darkness: Football Manager is back for 2017. Hooray and yippee indeed.
The full game is released on November 4, but until then there's a perfectly good beta version out there to get familiar with Sports Interactive's latest release. You might well kick off that first game with your own beloved team, but many of you prefer the challenge of more unfamiliar climes.
If you're unsure, here's what you'll be getting from the board at first. (Of course, these digits are always subject to change depending on how brave you feel about asking for more/upping your seasonal targets.)
Premier League
Particularly tasty pickings forTottenham, with the league's biggest starting transfer kitty and a lot of wiggle room with wages too.SouthamptonandSwanseaare both ripe for transforming into Europe-chasing sides with weighty warchests, and you can aim high with Evertonthanks to £45m worth of Farhad Moshiri's hard-earned.
Team
Transfer budget
Wage budget
Arsenal
£39.4m
£3m (£2.4m start)
Bournemouth
£3.6m
£885k (£800k start)
Burnley
£10m
£582k (£525k start)
Chelsea
£40m
£2.98m (£2.7m start)
Crystal Palace
£10.6m
£1.4m (£1.3m start)
Everton
£45m
£1.56m (£1.4m start)
Hull
£6m
£699k (£675k start)
Leicester
£9.5m
£1.59m (£1.4m start)
Liverpool
£40m
£2.78m (£2.3m start)
Manchester City
£28.9m
£3.65m (£3.4m start)
Manchester United
£31.3m
£4m (£3.7m start)
Middlesbrough
£3m
£1m (£1m start)
Southampton
£31m
£1.49m (£1.2m start)
Stoke
£9.5m
£1.29m (£1.1m start)
Sunderland
£12m
£1.04m (£1m start)
Swansea
£23.6m
£1.2m (£1.1m start)
Tottenham
£50m
£1.87m (£1.5m start)
Watford
£8m
£1.05m (£950k start)
West Brom
£9.7m
£1m start (£850k start)
West Ham
£6m
£1.44m (£1.4m start)
Championship
Fancy a challenge? Just check out what poorBurtonare up against. If you're all about the money, money, money thenNorwichare for you: £10m to blow on new players, and plenty left in the wage tank to lure them in. There's scope to turnBristolCity(£5.5m budget) into promotion candidates too, while atAston Villayou'll have to sell some players if you want the cash for transfers. There's an ample wage budget, though, so it's probably worth it.
Team
Transfer budget
Wage budget
Aston Villa
£0
£952k (£850k start)
Barnsley
£1m
£111k (£100k start)
Birmingham
£500k
£176k (£170k start)
Blackburn
£300k
£287k (£245k start)
Brentford
£500k
£172k (£165k start)
Brighton
£4.5m
£375k (£350k)
Bristol City
£5.5m
£222k (£200k start)
Burton
£150k
£67k (£61k start)
Cardiff
£1.2m
£435k (£425k start)
Derby
£4m
£530k (£500k)
Fulham
£400k
£352k (£350k start)
Huddersfield
£1m
£222k (£205k start)
Ipswich
£500k
£217k (£205k start)
Leeds
£100k
£243k (£200k start)
Newcastle
£5m
£1.14m (£1m start)
Norwich
£10m
£828k (£700k start)
Nottingham Forest
£500k
£339k (325k start)
Preston
£500k
£179k (£165k start)
QPR
£1m
£402k (£363k start)
Reading
£3m
£393k (£375k start)
Rotherham
£250k
£140k (£135k start)
Sheff Weds
£2m
£530k (£500k)
Wigan
£1m
£257k (£250k)
Wolves
£2.5m
£445k (£425k start)
League One
Oh dear,Charlton. The first thing you'll have to do is trim the wage outgoings, and badly – you're already £32k per week in the hole. Good luck with that. Unsurprisingly, transfer budgets are thin on the ground in the third tier:Peterborough and Sheffield Unitedstart with nice kitties from which to pull money from, while atMillwallyou'll find a surprisingly nice honey pot for wages.
Team
Transfer budget
Wage budget
AFC Wimbledon
£175k
£36k (£37k start)
Bolton
£0
£183k (£180k start)
Bradford
£50k
£67k (£64k start)
Bristol Rovers
£25k
£73k (£69k start)
Bury
£0
£51k (£49k start)
Charlton
£0
£128k (£160k start)
Chesterfield
£100k
£48k (£45k start)
Coventry
£0
£65k (£66k start)
Fleetwood
£10k
£55k (£47k start)
Gillingham
£50k
£82k (£77k start)
Millwall
£0
£93k (£89k start)
MK Dons
£50k
£82k (£77k start)
Northampton
£0
£44k (£45k start)
Oldham
£0
£47k (£44k start)
Oxford
£0
£50k (£52k start)
Peterborough
£400k
£76k (£72k start)
Port Vale
£66k
£47k (£44k start)
Rochdale
£40k
£38k (£35k start)
Scunthorpe
£100k
£65k (£60k start)
Sheffield United
£300k
£113k (£105k start)
Shrewsbury
£20k
£44k (£41k start)
Southend
£75k
£55k (£53k start)
Swindon
£150k
£62k (£58k start)
Walsall
£100k
£35k (£32k start)
League Two
With the lowest wage budget in England's top four divisions, you'll have your work cut out attracting the players you want at Cheltenham. It's a similar story atMorecambe, but at least there you'll start with some room to snaffle a free transfer or two to bolster the ranks. The outlook is kind if you're looking to restorePortsmouthto their former glories, with easily League Two's biggest transfer (£150k) and wage (£65k per week) budgets.
Team
Transfer budget
Wage budget
Accrington Stanley
£0
£28k (£27k start)
Barnet
£10k
£30k (£29k start)
Blackpool
£50k
£40k (£35k start)
Cambridge
£100
£36k (£35k start)
Carlisle
£63k
£31k (£28k start)
Cheltenham
£0
£20k (£19k start)
Colchester
£20k
£54k (£52k start)
Crawley
£10k
£29k (£27k start)
Crewe
£30k
£29k (£27k start)
Doncaster
£50k
£56k (£53k start)
Exeter
£0
£32k (£29k start)
Grimsby
£10k
£32k (£28k start)
Hartlepool
£25k
£30k (£29k start)
Leyton Orient
£0
£52k (£49k start)
Luton
£70k
£48k (£45k start)
Mansfield
£25k
£37k (£33k start)
Morecambe
£0
£22k (£18k start)
Newport County
£20k
£25k (£23k start)
Notts County
£75k
£45k (£44k start)
Plymouth
£0
£30k (£28k start)
Portsmouth
£150k
£65k (£59k start)
Stevenage
£10k
£46k (£40k start)
Wycombe
£0
£30k (£30k start)
Yeovil
£0
£24k (£24k start)
More Football Manager 2017
What’s it like to scout for Football Manager? A Sports Interactive expert tells FFT
Remembered! The best Football Manager wonderkids of all time
Football Manager 2017: Starting transfer and wage budgets in La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1
Miles Jacobson: How we make Football Manager, the future – and where YOU come into it
Football Manager 2017 review – definitely more than just a football game
Football Manager 2017 tips: how to master the new game
17 teams we can’t wait to be on Football Manager 2017
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featureThu, 27 Oct 2016 12:06:25 +0000Joe Brewin643244 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comAlan Smith, One-on-One: "The greatest club manager ever wanted me... how could I turn Man Utd down?"Why didnt Leeds win anything? Was Sven wrong not to take him to the World Cup in 2002? What did he make of Keanos MUTV rant? And is he still a BMX bandit? Your questions were answered...Andy Mittenhttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/alan-smith-one-one-greatest-club-manager-ever-wanted-me-how-could-i-turn-man-utd-down
The Smiths play on a loop in the kitchen of Alan Smith’s new house, overlooking the rolling hills at the southern fringes of Derbyshire’s beautiful Peak District. “The Smiths are class,” says Smith, a charming man, as he puts a brew on while singing along.
The Notts County player-coach shows us around the home that he will share with his wife-to-be. BMX, Motocross and Moto GP memorabilia adorn one room. “She’s told me to put it all in here,” he laughs. One hero is champion Spanish motorcyclist Jorge Lorenzo, “who risks his life and rides like it’s an art”, and Smith has a flag that affirms his loyalty to a man he’d love to meet.
“I’m not really one for interviews,” he says in a distinctive Leeds accent. Ninety minutes and another cup of tea later, he’s still talking, recounting a career which has taken in Leeds, Manchester United, Newcastle, MK Dons and now the world’s oldest club (oh, and 19 caps for England as well). But first...
Do you still BMX? I’m sure I read that you won trophies as a kid. How close did you come to dropping football because of it? Can you still do it? Just like riding a bike, right?
Joe H Harman, via Twitter
It was the other way around – I started off riding BMX as a young kid, a long time before I played football. I was into BMX because my dad used to race motocross; my family was into bikes. I watched motocross videos every day and watched Junior Kick Start religiously. I remember films like BMX Bandits. As for trophies, I won the British championship at eight. I had a few different bikes – my dad bought them, to my mum’s dismay. I’d race from Inverness to Slough. Dad was a heavy goods driver who would come home on a Friday, pack up the camper van and we’d be off for the weekend, driving through the night. My parents put a huge effort into my brother and me racing. Most mates wanted to be a footballer – I wanted to race bikes. I think I’d struggle to get on one today.
You attended the now defunct FA School of Excellence at Lilleshall when you were 14, featuring in an ITV documentary. Is it true you were so unhappy that you walked out after a few months?
Kieran Kennedy, Winchester
It is true. I was a very young 14-year-old coming from a close-knit family. I was at Leeds by that stage, but Lilleshall was a completely different environment. I was homesick in the boarding-school environment and wanted to get back with my mum, dad and brother. It was a very hard decision to leave the national school, but I think my style of football suited Leeds better than how I was being coached to play at the national school.
How did you feel when you scored with your very first touch in the professional game, a rasping drive past David James at Anfield?
Robert Barry, Wokingham
It felt important, but every goal meant the same to me, from the youth team to the first team. The difference was that scoring in the first team meant so much more to everyone else. That goal changed my life. I was meant to be in Israel with England’s U18s but it was cancelled because of the political situation. I went back to Leeds, someone was injured and I was asked to train with the first team. I was picked in the squad and thought I was going as an extra body. We were getting beat, but I got brought on and bang – I scored. I wanted more of that. We played Charlton a week later and I came on and scored again. We had such a good environment at Leeds, and Eddie Gray was a massive influence on me. He’d been managing the youth team with Paul Hart and I never wanted to let them down because they’d shown so much belief in me.
Smith scores against Liverpool
You were part of a very youthful Leeds side, playing alongside Jonathan Woodgate, Lee Bowyer, Harry Kewell and Stephen McPhail. Who was the standout talent?
Dominic Mellor, Harrogate
I was the youngest and they looked after me. They all had talent and a hunger to succeed, which was vital. McPhail’s footballing ability was incredible, Kewell and Jonathan went on to do great things in football, and Bowyer did too. Stephen had a few health problems, which stopped him along the way, but I remember them all being great lads.
What were your highlights of Leeds’ Champions League run in 2000-01?
Scott Roberts, Dewsbury
It was an amazing adventure for the whole club, and an incredible experience for a 19-or 20-year-old lad, right from the beginning. I scored our first goal in the play-off match against 1860 Munich and the winner in the second leg at the Olympic Stadium. In the second group stage we were drawn against Anderlecht, Lazio and Real Madrid, but managed to qualify with a game to spare. I got another good goal against Lazio, but I have to admit I only did the easy bit – Mark Viduka did all the hard work for me! We went through with a game to spare, and so did Real Madrid, so we went to the Bernabeu pretty relaxed. It was great for us to play at one of the biggest clubs in the world without any pressure, and we had amazing backing – I think half of Leeds was out there with us. Viduka and I both scored again, but we still lost 3-2. We beat Deportivo in the quarter-final but the semi [against Valencia] was one step too far us. It was the only time we couldn’t impose ourselves on the opposition’s back four. We drew 0-0 at home, then lost 3-0 away. I was sent off for a bad tackle late in the second leg, mainly through sheer frustration. That tarnishedour great run in the competition, for me. I wouldn’t have changed it though; I loved every minute of the whole journey.
You must have played against some great defenders in that Champions League run. Who was the best?
Ryan Gulliver, Portsmouth
I had the pleasure of playing against a man who, in my opinion, was the best defender ever – the great Paolo Maldini. Our game at the San Siro was an amazing night and we were backed by five or six thousand Leeds fans. It was my best performance in a Leeds shirt: although I didn’t score, the rest of my play was the best it had ever been. I swapped shirts with Maldini at full-time and it’s still the only shirt I’ve ever had framed.
Why did that Leeds team fall short of winning anything? And when did you realise the club’s finances weren’t quite right?
Matthew Parkinson, via email
There were better teams than us – great sides like Manchester United and Arsenal, with more experience and world-class players. Being local and knowing the club as I did, I realised that everything wasn’t right and heard grumblings that players needed to be sold. We sold Rio [Ferdinand] to Man United in 2002 for £30m. Leeds couldn’t turn that down and it made me think we weren’t as close to bridging the gap as I’d thought. We finished fifth, fourth and third – David O’Leary got sacked for finishing fifth, which was ridiculous. I realised there were problems when I came back for pre-season in 2003 and we had eight or nine players. James Milner and Aaron Lennon played at 16. We had lads from France who’d never played in England. Relegation was tough – the worst feeling ever. I blamed myself but I don’t think I could have done any more. My last memory of playing for my hometown club was relegation. Horrible.
How upset were you to miss out on England’s 2002 World Cup?
Ellie Coates, Madrid
I felt I was better than people who were going, but it was my own fault. I’d been in every squad and I got sent off against Macedonia in a qualifier. Sven, who was always brilliant with me, needed me on the pitch, needed me to be reliable – I understand that more now. But sometimes I couldn’t help it [smiles]. I went to the U21 [European] championship instead with David Platt.
Considering you stuck around after many others had left, how disappointing was it to hear Leeds fans criticise you after you joined Manchester United? Is it true that you waived the personal transfer fee owed to you by Leeds? And is it a myth that you once said you’d “never play for Man United”?
Trevor Hobbs, London
That’s not a myth [laughs] – I did say it. I was young and naive and never thought that a) Man United would ever want me, and b) Leeds would sell me. Look how silly I was. I also didn’t envisage Leeds getting relegated. I would probably never have left if we hadn’t gone down, but Leeds were trying to sell me to the highest bidder. As for the criticism, I’d have been a fool if I thought that wouldn’t happen. I’d been at the club when Eric [Cantona] left to go to Old Trafford. I was ball boy the day he came back and scored at the [Elland Road] Kop and saw the feelings that day. I spoke to Sir Alex and he said: “I never thought you’d be brave enough to make that decision.” But the Leeds I left wasn’t the Leeds I knew. There were people in charge of the club who I didn’t like. I went to meetings and saw some bizarre things. I had the chance to go from a team who’d been relegated to the champions. Arguably the greatest club manager ever wanted me. How could I turn that down? As for waiving the transfer fee – I had five years left on my contract. I was entitled to money, but the last thing I wanted was tosee Leeds go bankrupt. I’ve never spoken about it because I don’t want to speak badly about my club. I’ve been back and most people were pleasant with me.
How did you feel when Man United signed Wayne Rooney so soon after yourself? Were you aware he’d be coming when you signed?
Shane Byram, via Twitter
No, but it wasn’t an issue. There were already great strikers there, as you’d expect at a club with ambitions of winning titles and European Cups. Wayne would only help us to get better so I was fine with the club signing him.
What went through your mind after blocking that John Arne Riise free-kick when you broke your leg? Did you fear that your career would be over?
Kennet Tan, via Twitter
I never let that cross my mind. It wasn’t Riise’s fault and he came to see me afterwards, but I attacked my injury as another challenge and it proved to be the biggest challenge of my career, keeping me out for 15 months. It was a severe injury – the dislocated ankle was worse than the leg break because I snapped ligaments and there were complications. I knew I was never going to be the same player again. I’ve appreciated every game I’ve played since that injury because I know how close I was to being finished. When the lads won the Carling Cup they wore T-shirts for me. I’d been in hospital for a week and got back to my flat in Manchester. I watched the game on TV, then saw my team-mates wear T-shirts with my name on. That meant more to me than I’ve ever let on. I had no idea they’d planned that.
Is the story true about Liverpool fans attacking the ambulance you were in after your leg break?
Stuart Smith, via Facebook
It didn’t happen – fans were still in the ground. I went back to Liverpool a few years later with Newcastle and had a great reception. I had loads of mail from fans after the injury, including a lot from Liverpool. And Liverpool’s medical staff were great. They were worried that because there was no blood flowing that I could have had a club foot. Some might say I might as well have in my left foot now...
Who is the toughest player you’ve played alongside? And the toughest you’ve faced?
Brede Skahjem Tokvam, via Twitter
That’s hard to judge. Football was more physical then than it is now, and that’s for the worse. If someone was better than me I’d have to find a way to stop them. Skill has triumphed. The Leeds team of the ’70s would be appalled!
Do you think moving into midfield – to the right with Leeds, then centrally with Man United – hampered or helped your career? Would you have preferred to stay upfront?
George Pitts, via Twitter
It helped me – more so after my injury, which took 10-15 per cent of my capabilities away. If you lose two or three per cent at the top you’ll struggle. I had to re-invent myself as a player; be a bit more reserved and learn the game again so that I knew how to play a position properly. At Newcastle I learned to play in defensive midfield. I had my injury in 2005 – 10 years on, I’m still playing. I’m pleased about that.
Did you try to talk Fergie out of playing you in central midfield? Did you honestly believe you could be the next Roy Keane?
John Norris, via Facebook
People said I was going to Man United to take Roy’s place. Nonsense. Most of my games there were in a three-man midfield with Roy and Scholesy. Roy had such high standards and would always be on at me for flying into tackles. In one game at Liverpool I left my position and went flying into a tackle. Roy was shouting at me to stay on my feet. Two minutes later he went after a ball and smashed a player. He got up and laughed at me, but he was the captain – he was allowed. I spent a lot of time with him. He’s a good lad.
I liked your attitude at Manchester United – you were up for a laugh with fans. Do you remember scoring from the halfway line in Prague during the warm-down, then taking the piss out of the fans who were singing “Smithy, kiss the badge”?
Ben Moores, Urmston
It was because I’d kissed the Leeds badge – the badge of my club. So the Man United fans were having a laugh. But it was quite intimidating, seeing 5,000 of them steaming in Prague and singing at me. I was a football fan and I still am: I’m a normal lad who ended up playing football, so I could see where they were coming from. I didn’t kiss it and they probably respected me more for that.
You’ve played alongside some great strikers in your time, but who was the best?
Bill Simpson, Staines
They were all great, but I’d say Mark Viduka. Just before he signed, David O’Leary came to me and said: “What type of striker do you like to play alongside?” I’d never been with a targetman and wanted to play with one. He came from Celtic and we hit it off straightaway. He never looked like he was trying, but he always was. His skill for such a big man was frightening.
What did you make of that interview that Roy Keane gave to MUTV?
Sam Convery, Coventry
If you’re captain of a football club, you’re entitled to say what you want. Roy never said anything that he wouldn’t have said to us. He was probably calmer in that video than he was in the dressing room. I had a great relationship with Roy. I read his book, enjoyed it and appreciated what he said about me.
What did you make of the reaction when you faced Leeds for the first time in the summer of 2009, in a pre-season friendly for Newcastle? What would you say to those fans who booed you?
Ed Brooks, Weybridge
It wasn’t too bad. I’m not silly – I don’t live in a world where I think football fans would be complimentary about players who leave their club. If I had been a Leeds fan and one of the players had left for a rival club, I’d probably have booed. But if nobody cared when I left and wished me well because they weren’t bothered about me going, I’d have failed as a player. Leeds are the club I support. I’ve never spoken about leaving, but I don’t need to justify it given the circumstances at the time.
How did being relegated with Newcastle compare with the feeling of being relegated with Leeds? Which hurt more?
Kay Z, via Twitter
I was injured for a lot of [Newcastle’s relegation] season, only playing a few games. But it still hurt because I was around people every day who cared about what happened. Nobody wants to get relegated. Luckily, we came straight back up. A lot of the players wanted to stay, pay back the fans and re-establish their reputation. Some people thought we’d go straight down again to the third division, but we had a great season. We beat the club record for points in a season, had 20-odd clean sheets and played in front of 50,000-plus crowds. Incredible support.
You never scored for Newcastle, despite making 94 appearances. Is this a disappointment?
Liam Nicholson, Stockport
Not at all. I was a defensive midfielder. But because I’d played up front previously, people expected me to score. Defensive midfielders don’t tend to score. I think Claude Makelele got one for Chelsea. I had a couple of chances to score at Newcastle and would have loved to have scored, but I think my biggest achievement there was getting the team promoted, as team captain in many games as Nicky Butt was injured.
How close did you come to a Leeds return in 2012, when manager Simon Grayson expressed an interest in you?
Dave Woodfin, via email
It was speculation. I heard nothing from Simon or Leeds. I don’t think I would have gone back – I don’t think I could have done myself justice. I wasn’t the player I had been; I was 33 and not 21, though I could have still had a big influence. Better for them to remember a younger me, and for me to maintain my unbelievable memories at Leeds when it was a different club.
You’re one of the few high-profile players of the last decade to drop down to League One. Should more pros follow your example, especially if they’re not getting a game?
Thomas O’Dea, via Facebook
I love football and wanted to carry on playing. I’d rather play and be part of something. I also wanted to do something different and give something to a team that maybe they don’t have. I’ve learned a lot about the other side of football: what coaches have to go through, coping with things that are taken for granted at a higher level, and that players who fight for a new contract every year might have great ability but one thing missing to take them to the top. I had two great years at MK Dons and we couldn’t quite get them over the line and get promotion. We were up against big teams and the standard is good.
You’ve said before that you’re interested in getting your coaching badges. I see you’re player-coach at Notts County…
Jane Graham, Newcastle
Definitely. I’m getting married in the summer so it will be difficult to fit them in before then, but if I can get another playing contract I’ll do them next season. I’ve wanted to concentrate on playing and I’m still fit, don’t drink and feel fine playing, but I’m ready for badges now. Paul Hart is head of the academy here. The manager Shaun Derry, his assistant and the players are so hungry. It’s a buzz going in every day as a coach and a player.
This feature originally appeared in the May 2015 issue ofFourFourTwo. Subscribe!
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featureFri, 23 Sep 2016 11:08:34 +0000Greg Lea629990 at http://www.fourfourtwo.com10 men you didn't know were still playing, feat. Zokora, Aliadiere, Malouda and moreRemember that player you thought had retired long ago? Abhinav Kini explains why you need to think againAbhinav Kinihttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/10-players-you-didnt-know-were-still-playing-zokora-aliadiere-malouda-elano-and-more
Very few footballers retire at the top of their game, or even with the club they made their name with. As such, it's easy to let former stars of the Premier League fade from view until their retirement is all but assumed. Here's a selection of former-Premier League names who you might have thought had hung up their boots...
Diego Forlan
The former Manchester United man’s best year was undoubtedly in 2010 where he not only won the Europa League with Atletico Madrid, scoring a brace in the final, but also had a superb World Cup where he was the joint top-scorer with five goals, helping Uruguay to a fourth-place finish.
However, Forlan was 31 then so it might surprise a few to learn that the 37-year-old is still an active player, having last played with his boyhood club, Peñarol, helping them win the Primera División last season.
Didier Zokora
Didier Zokora is more or less known for his three years atTottenham where despite a promising start to his Spurs career, he eventually found himself relegated to the substitutes' bench.
The 35-year-old Ivorian departed north London and has since gone on to play for SevillaandTurkish sides Trabzonspor and Akhisar Belediyespor, before moving to Indian side Pune City in 2015.
Florent Malouda
The Frenchman was a vital part of the Chelsea side that won the double in 2010, but Malouda fell down the pecking order and was even demoted to Chelsea’s reserve team at one stage.
Moves to Trabzonspor and FC Metz followed but Malouda, now 36, is currently under contract with the Delhi Dynamos in India. His latest stint was a loan move from India to Egypt where he played for Wadi Degla.
Elano
The former Manchester City midfielder had an inconsistent two years in England, and when he moved to Galatasarayno one predicted that he’d ever reach the level that he did. However, Elano impressed in Turkey, as a result became a leading man for Brazilatthe 2010 World Cup, where he scored two goals.
A move back to Santos in 2011 saw him return to the Brazilian league for the first time in seven years, where he also played for Gremio and Flamengo before returning to Santos again. The 35-year-old has also had two stints with Indian side, Chennaiyin, where he was a marquee player.
Thomas Sorensen
Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen became a household name in the Premier League during spells at Sunderland, Aston Villa and Stoke City. Still a first choice keeper at the Britannia Stadium in 2010, the Danish international eventually lost his place to Asmir Begovic and remained a back-up goalkeeper for the Potters until 2015.
Having turned 40 a couple of months ago, Sorensen is still an active player, plying his trade in Australia with Melbourne City.
Matthew Upson
The former Arsenal defender had little luck breaking into the Gunners’ first XI, but eventually found his stride as a first-choice defender for Birmingham City. A move to West Ham followed in 2007 where Upson’s stock increased further, being named captain two years after his move to the Hammers.
The Englishman featured for Englandat the 2010 World Cup where he scored England's only goal in the 4-1 defeat to Germany. A move to Stoke followed a year later, whereupon Upson was only regarded as a back-up defender again. Since then, the 37-year-old has featured for Brighton Hove Albion and Leicester City, while his latest stint was with MK Dons where the Dons were relegated from the Championship.
Jeremie Aliadiere
The former Arsenal youngster was brought to north London in 1999 from the famous Clairefontaine academy in France, and waited seven years before he was given a proper run with the Gunners. Despite seeing more game time, Aliadiere only featured regularly in Arsenal’s League Cup campaign as they reached the final, losing to a more experienced Chelsea side, 2-1.
Aliadiere moved to Middlesbrough the next season and after three years at the Riverside Stadium, moved back to France with FC Lorient. His latest stint was with Qatari club, Umm Salal SC, and at 33 years of age he is currently a free agent.
Tim Cahill
Tim Cahill was a key player for Everton in his eight years at Merseyside, becoming part of the furniture in the Premier League in the process. The Australian was eventually deemed surplus to requirements and was sold to the New York Red Bulls in 2012, where he showed he still had something left in the tank.
The last two years for the Australian have seen him play in China, and his latest move sees him move to Melbourne City as a very valuable free agent, even at the age of 36.
Luis Garcia
38-year-old Luis Garcia will forever be known for his three year stint at Liverpool from 2004 to 2007, where he played a key role in helping them win the Champions League and FA Cup.
The Spaniard has since, become a footballing nomad having played in various nations such as Greece, Mexico and India (coming out of retirement in 2014 to play in the Indian Super League). Most recently he played for Australian side Central Coast Mariners and is currently a free agent.
Eric Djemba-Djemba
Known more for his name rather than his ability, the world was introduced to Eric Djemba-Djemba in 2003 when Manchester United bought him from Nantes. However, the Cameroonian struggled to keep his place in the side and was sold two years later after just 20 league appearances.
Since then, Djemba-Djemba has played all over the world, in India, Qatar, Denmark, Israel, Scotland and Serbia. Now 35, the midfielder currently plays for Persipa Padalarang in the Indonesian Village Sunday League.
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featureFri, 12 Aug 2016 15:22:11 +0000Max McLean612766 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comInfographic: Is your club in its "rightful place"?Are your lot batting above or below their average? Mike Holden has crunched the numbers for the definitive answer...Mike Holdenhttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/infographic-your-club-its-rightful-place
You can tell it’s August by the number of players, supporters and journalists using the phrase “rightful place” –usually when clubs are perceived to have spent time finishing somewhat below their hypothetical station
The only way to judge historical “rightfulness” is to check historical data. According to popular cultural reference tool the Bible, the human lifespan is “Three score and 10” –70 years, in more modern terms.
It therefore seems a suitable yardstick for a comparative analysis of the current 92 English league clubs based on their aggregate finishing position in post-war times – 70 seasons in total. This FFT study is purely objective: teams are scored on their aggregate finishing position from 1-92 across those 70 seasons (any season spent in non-league or non-existence ranks as 100). The lower a club's aggregate score, the better.
But life moves on and time is unforgiving. What happened last season is more relevant than what happened 20 years ago and what happened 20 years ago is more relevant than what happened 20 years before that. Then again, sample sizes also matter – for example, one league title success doesn’t mean Leicester are suddenly bigger than Liverpool.
So it’s only right we weight performance in accordance with generational cycles. Therefore, the scores are weighted in descending 20-year cycles. So scores since 1997 have a value of 1.0, between 1977 and 1996 the value is doubled, between 1957 and 1976 the value is trebled and the first decade after World War II (1947-1956) is multiplied by four.
There’s plenty to see in the accompanying graphics dotted through the piece, including where your boys "should" be. Having studied the findings in detail, here’s what FFT considered to be the most salient points raised…
Money preserves the status quo
Last season’s Premier League narrative centred on an ‘unprecedented’ level of unpredictability, but the historical top seven –Man United,Arsenal,Liverpool,Tottenham,Everton,ChelseaandMan City– all finished in the top 11, the same as the season before.
Indeed, had Leicester and Chelsea not swapped scripts beforehand, the storyline would barely have been remarkable at all: just a slightly stronger Spurs than usual replacing a slightly under-par –but still top-five –Manchester United.
In the five seasons between August 2009 and May 2014, the top seven all finished in the top eight places every year, three times filling the top seven. Over the past decade, a historical top-seven club has only finished outside the top eight on six occasions (out of 70 possibilities).
Leicester: hardly minnows
Without wishing to detract from last season’s extraordinary Premier League success, the narrative went a little overboard in its illustration of Leicester as historical nobodies.
The honours list might be modest but the Foxes are certainly top-flight material over the EPL era; over the entire post-war period (see graphic below) they have been steady middleweights, spending 35 seasons in the top flight and all but one of the other 35 in the second tier. Their aggregate post-war finishing position is similar to Sunderland, one of the clubs most frequently described as being underachieving.
Indeed, had it not been for the intervention of a certain Brian Clough in the 1970s, Leicester would be head and shoulders above both of their East Midlands rivals. As it is, they currently share equal billing with Nottingham Forest, although events of the past 12 months put them in a strong position to kick on in the next 20-year cycle to leave their two nearest rivals trailing in their wake.
Wolves: the ultimate sleeping giant
They might have done very little of note for the past 35 years but an objective study like this, even when weighted in favour of recency, serves only to illustrate what a big club Wolves really are – and why their supporters tend to be more disgruntled by mediocrity than most.
After the war, the Black Country outfit spent 33 of the next 36 seasons competing in the top flight, winning three titles under Stan Cullis in the 1950s, and completing top-six finishes on 11 other occasions between 1947 and 1963. But not since 1980 have they hit their par ranking of tenth in the country.
With the club now owned by a Chinese conglomerate pledging to invest the sort of money which could catapult the Old Gold back into the big time, younger generations might wish to make a mental note of this track record before embarrassing themselves with the usual jibes about a lack of class or history...
Sheffield Wednesday: the forgotten club
Football fans of a certain age might be shocked to see Sheffield Wednesday residing outside the top 20, but it just goes to show how quickly time flies – the Owls have been absent from the Premier League for 16 years now.
Of the 23 clubs who have totted up three decades or more at the highest level since the war, only Wolves (19 seasons, 1983-2003) have experienced a longer top-flight exile. The Steel City club have also attracted foreign investment, though, and hopes are high that Carlos Carvalhal will be the man who finally put an end to the prolonged drought.
Geography matters
People have often speculated about what would happen if the two Sheffield clubs merged, as if the combined might of Wedensday and United would create a new superpower to rival the big clubs in Manchester, Merseyside or London. But such speculation might be missing the point.
Outside of the six biggest regions – the aforementioned three, West Midlands, North-East and East Midlands – only Leeds and Stoke (with respect to Port Vale) are stand-alone entities in the top overall 20. After that, you’ve got the Sheffield duo neck and neck, followed by Lancashire rivals Burnley, Bolton and Blackburn.
Clubs who share geographical hotbeds are generally positioned close to one another in the rankings, and usually higher than one-city clubs of similar size and potential. It stands to reason: even when league titles or promotions aren’t up for grabs, local pride drives them on to outdo their rivals.
Hampshire: the unhealthiest of rivalries
As if to hammer the point home, look no further than Southampton and Portsmouth, who really need to spend more time together. The two clubs (combined) have spent 60 seasons in the top flight and 59 seasons in the second tier, yet bizarrely they’ve only spent six seasons in the same division over the past 60 years.
They sit 23rd and 29th respectively in the historical chart and naturally ridicule each other by virtue of which team is competing at the higher level in any given era. Conversely, they would arguably both be comfortable top 20 clubs if they crossed paths more often.
More infographics • More analysis
More features every day at FourFourTwo.comfeatureFri, 05 Aug 2016 14:13:10 +0000Gary Parkinson609737 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comRoberto Di Matteo: I got rejected by Birmingham? Don't believe everything you read...FourFourTwo sat down for a career reflective with the incoming Aston Villa boss in our April 2014 issue...Andy Mittenhttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/roberto-di-matteo-i-got-rejected-birmingham-dont-believe-everything-you-read
Roberto Di Matteo is enjoying being at home in south London. "When I worked, I would get up and leave before the three kids woke up and then get back in the evening," he says as his English wife makes FourFourTwo an espresso.
"It was hard on my family," adds the former Schaffhausen, Zurich, Aarau, Lazio and Chelsea player who was capped 34 times by Italy. "So it was really nice to spend a summer holiday with them and to see so much of them now."
As planes roar ahead on the Heathrow approach, Di Matteo talks about his past as a player and manager at MK Dons, West Brom and Chelsea, where he became the first manager to win the European Cup in Europe's biggest city. "Even if I was tee total, I would have still drunk alcohol that night in Munich," he smiles, recalling a night of celebrations "singing and dancing, trying to understand the moment while also being so tired."
"I wanted to stop the clock," he adds. "My players wanted to throw me in the swimming pool at five in the morning, when it was getting light. Well, Drogba did. He called me over for a chat. I thought it would be about his future, but he picked me up and threw me in."
What was it like working as a butcher for a brief time? It’s not the kind of job most teenagers do! Did you get any free sausages?
Peter Niblett, via email
You need to understand the background. In your final year at school in Switzerland you need to do an apprenticeship. You have two weeks work experience and they try to understand which way you want to go. I did different apprenticeships. I was a baker, a mechanic and a butcher. I did loads and quite enjoyed them, but none of them were for me.
You were born in Switzerland but are of Italian heritage and have lived in England for a while now. Where do you consider home?
Steve Hughes, London
I consider home to be wherever I am with my family: my wife and my children. I've been influenced by the Swiss culture, by my Italian culture, by the English culture. I feel like a pan-European man because of the influence of all these cultures. The Swiss culture is based on education, both social and academic. They have respect for the nation, for the people. They are efficient and punctual. That is inside me. The Italian culture is about enjoying your life and being optimistic about your life. It's about looking after your family. I feel that. The English culture has taught be to be open minded about the world. The English were conquerors in the past. They like to travel and see the world. I've lived in London most of my time. It's a cosmopolitan city where I've learned to accept many different religious styles of living. I've accepted the idea of living with people with different ideas and philosophies.
What was the quality of the Swiss league like when you played there? Who was the best player you played with?
Ian McIntosh, Glasgow
Back in the '80s the Swiss league wasn't as good as it is now. It has improved exponentially in the last 10 years. It was average then compared to other European leagues. There were some good players and others who came to play at the end of their career like Marco Tardelli. Football wasn't as important as it is now. It was the No.1 sport with ice hockey, but football has grown in popularity and there are Swiss players now playing in major European leagues. The infrastructure is better after 2008 too. The best player I played with was a Polish guy called Ryszard Komornicki. He was a creative midfield player and we played in a title-winning team together at Aarau.
You could have played for Switzerland or Italy. Why did you choose the Azzurri?
Duncan M, London
There wasn't a decision to play for one of another. I was living and playing in Switzerland and could have gone for the Swiss nationality which could have made me available for selection for the Swiss team. People recommended that it would further my career as I was a foreigner on the squad list. I didn't believe in that. I saw it as a challenge to prove that I was good enough as a foreigner to play in any team. It gave me a motivation to prove to myself and others that I could be in the team and have one of the sacred foreigner spots. I could have taken an easier road and become Swiss. The Italian national team weren't in the picture at that time. That was a dream, a long shot. I wanted to one day play in Italy as a professional.
Can you describe the atmosphere for the Rome derby? Does anything in football match it?
Marco, via email
When I watched a Rome derby this season, I noticed that the stadium wasn't full. That surprised me. The atmosphere is incredible there.
As a player I loved to play it because you come out into a full stadium, where you have two sets of supporters with their flags and songs. There would be 60,000 home fans, 20,000 away fans. They were high-pressure games and from the first day I signed for Lazio all everybody talked about was the derby. Win the derby and everything else was OK. It was superficial, I suppose, but it was a wonderful experience. I played in six Rome derbies and won three, drew two and lost one.
Is it true you had a spectacular falling-out with coach Zdenek Zeman that led to him booting you out of Lazio? What was it about?
Mario Lombardi, Sardinia
It's not quite true. That's the perception that the media gave. I had a good relationship with him. Sometimes we had discussions where we agreed and disagreed, which was normal. I always respected his decision. After three very happy years at Lazio, I thought that a new personal and professional challenge would be a good idea. That was the main reason I left, not the coach. On the other hand, the club was also happy to sell me when they received the offer from Chelsea.
Is it right that your car got trashed and fans rioted when Lazio sold you to Chelsea in 1996? Nice motor, was it?
Ewan Smith, Perth
You shouldn't generalise. There were a small number of fans who showed their unhappiness at me leaving. They didn't trash my car, but they did confront me outside the headquarters of Lazio. It wasn't exactly nice, I have to say. But after I spoke to them and gave my reasons, everything was settled.
What inspired that awesome goal celebration when you scored on your Chelsea home debut against Middlesbrough? Go on, Robbie, recreate it for the FFT cameras!
Luke Watmore, Kensington
(Smiles) It wasn't planned at all. I wasn't a striker and didn't expect to score. It was just a reaction to scoring my first goal in the first home game at my new club. It started our season and remains a happy memory.
Three Wembley cup finals for Chelsea and you scored in all of them. Bet you were gutted when they ripped the Twin Towers down! I’ve got one of the old stadium’s chairs – want to buy it off me?
Jake, via email
Jake's right, the old Wembley was lucky for me. I also played for Italy there and we won as well. Life moves on and the new Wembley is a wonderful venue. I've watched a lot of games there.
I wish I could have played in it because it's probably the best stadium in the world. As for the chair, I've probably got enough in my house, but thanks for the offer.
When Louis Saha scored after 25 seconds of the 2009 FA Cup Final, was your first thought about your old club being behind or your Wembley record being pinched?
Jake Adams, Melbourne, Australia
I knew that someday someone would better my record. The only thing I didn't appreciate was that the goal was scored against Chelsea.
How different was pre-Abramovich Chelsea to the club we see today?
Alain Ferrari, Zurich, Switzerland
It had more of a family feel pre-Abramovich. There was a personal connection to Ken Bates, he would be very involved with the players. He was a generous man, which not many people know. He's ruthless if he wants to be, but I think there's the wrong perception of him in the media. The club was smaller too and you had a personal relationship with a lot of the staff there. Chelsea was a good domestic club, average in Europe, even though we won the Cup Winners' Cup. We reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League but never had quite enough to be a challenger to win the trophy. With Abramovich the club moved up a level. It became a domestic and international force. It's probably a bit more corporate run too.
Dennis Wise: is he the nutter everyone says he is? How did he compare to Gazza at Lazio?
Terry Toms, via email
Wisey is crazy in a good way. He's a good friend and we keep in touch. We've spent a lot of our life together. He was a good captain, very fair in that he put emphasis on the squad, not only the important players. He was crazy on the pitch though. He'd drive the opposition nuts by winding them up. He got Nicky Butt sent off. He wound opponents up so much. He'd talk, he'd pinch them. It was great to have him in your team.
Gazza's behaviour could be funny and also unusual at Lazio, but you could see that there may be issues in the future. He was the funny guy in the dressing room and he'd keep spirits high. He would fool around. You'd put your shoes on and they'd slip into cream or toothpaste which Gazza had put there. Or you'd go to your car after training and all four of your car tyres would be flat because Gazza had let them down. He was very popular with Lazio supporters. He was a likeable man. You couldn't get angry with him, even when he'd let your tyres down, because he'd just laugh at you. Gazza was an exceptional player; he scored some spectacular individual goals. His Italian was not quite so exceptional, though. He tried to speak a little bit and he could understand more than he could speak, but he had a very strong accent, a kind of Geordie/Italian. I couldn't understand his English either!
I'll never forget you breaking your leg against St Gallen in 2000. Did you think you'd never play again? And how did you react when your worst fears were confirmed?
Adam Jones, Fulham
I was devastated when it happened, but I didn't think I'd never play again. It had happened to other people before, but as the day went on I had complication after complication.
Four or five days after the injury, I was in a bad way. The surgeon said to me: 'Look, Rob, we have to make sure that you will have a normal life, which means you being able to walk normally, before we even think about you playing again'. That was when it hit me.
Then he explained the complications and I thought 'I'm in trouble now'. There were difficult times in the months ahead. I had a triple fracture with compartment syndrome - internal bleeding inside muscles. That creates a lot of pressure, which needs to be released. If it is not you lose the muscle. They had to slice me open to find the artery or vein which was bleeding into the muscle compartment. I had other complications like infections. It seemed like there was a new problem every day, a new complication. I remember thinking: 'Four days ago I was a professional footballer; today I'm looking at being disabled for the rest of my life'.
Do you think you’d have won more caps for Italy if you hadn’t moved abroad?
Paolo, via email
Yes. For sure. When I left I knew it would affect my chances for Italy. It did. It did the same for Gianfranco Zola, Fabrizio Ravanelli and Pierluigi Casiraghi. If you left Italy, you left the Italian national team. Why, I don't know.
Was it frustrating to watch Italy's World Cup '98 defeat to France on penalties from the bench, especially in hindsight, as you wouldn't play for them again? Would you have stepped up to take one if you'd been on the pitch?
Sean Lyon, Derby
I was not a penalty taker so probably not, I wouldn't have been appointed. It was hard seeing your team-mates working, but against France in France? That was tough, it felt like France were playing a home game. I remember the extra motivation Italy had in 1990. We did well to reach the quarter-finals and take the eventual winners to the lottery of penalties.
Why did you decide to come back to football after completing a Master’s degree in Business Administration?
Michael Davies, via Twitter
I did a BA diploma in Switzerland. After I finished my career I wanted to go back into academic education because I hadn't done any throughout my football career. That comes from the background of having being raised inn Switzerland, where the focus is academic education. I also like to study, to focus and learn new things. So I went to the European School of Economics in London and it was of great value to me. The subjects were interesting like strategic management and operational management. It's more corporate than sport focused. The psychology was interesting too. I liked the environment of being challenged intellectually and enjoyed it. It was hard, studying from morning until evening in English, which is not my mother language, but I'm glad I did it.
MK Dons aren’t a popular club among neutrals. Did you understand that when you joined them – and did you care?
Martin Richards, Manchester
Did I understand it? No. Did I care? No. Did I have a great time there? Yes. We had an average attendance of 10,500 in League One. There was a lot of optimism and enthusiasm and Pete Winkleman was a wonderful chairman, his wife a wonderful lady too. The stadium was great and Milton Keynes is actually a nice place with a great location. I was lucky for that to be my first position as a manager. When we travelled to away games there was no recognition of our unpopularity. We were just a normal away team.
You brought Tore André Flo out of retirement at Milton Keynes. Did he take a lot of convincing? And was it hard to see your former team-mate miss a penalty to stop the Dons going to Wembley for the play-off final?
Thomas Rees, Milton Keynes
He took a bit of convincing because he had retired, but it worked out for him. He could stay at home and commute. He knew me and Eddie Newton too, which helped. Yes, he missed the penalty, but that could have happened to anybody. We had the chance to win the penalties twice before Tore missed. It was a shame because we deserved a little better.
At West Bromwich Albion, did you have any doubts about welcoming back Roman Bednar after his police caution for drug possession?
Lee Ryan, Birmingham
He had been punished. You hope that people learn from their mistakes and I felt he deserved another chance.
How do you look back on your time with West Brom? Promotion, Manager of the Month, then fired halfway through your first Premier League season. Was that harsh?
Alex Mitchum, Cork
I've been in football for so long that nothing really surprises me. I guess they felt it was right for the club. It was a blessing in disguise for me because if they hadn't sacked me I would still be there and wouldn't have achieved what I've achieved today. West Brom was a good experience. We bounced back into the Premier League after a great season. We started well in the Premier League and didn't spend a day in the relegation zone. That's football, that's life.
I heard you were rejected by Birmingham City after they were relegated. What happened? You should have been a shoo-in!
Roy Alton, Birmingham
Don't believe everything that you read because that's not true.
I see you live in Leamington Spa. Ever been to the pump rooms? Rubbish, aren’t they?
Simon, via email
I spent some years living in Leamington Spa and liked it very much. It's a lovely town. There are many beautiful places in England, like Cornwall. My kids have just been to the Lake District and said very positive things about it. But no, I've never been to the pump rooms. Maybe in the future.
Rumours circulated during Andre Villas-Boas’ Chelsea reign, when you were his assistant, that the so-called ‘old guard’ undermined him. Was there any truth in that?
Tony Smith, Carlisle
No. The club felt it was time for a change. But I hope you also understand that it's difficult for me to speak about this.
What did you make of Pep Guardiola saying, after the first leg against Barcelona, “It’s never easy to play well when the opposition is not playing football”? Was it disappointing to hear your opposite number react so negatively to a tactical battle?
‘Sugar Ray’, via email
That's not what he said to me after the game, when we had a very good conversation and he complimented our plan, if not our style. I have a high regard for Pep Guardiola as a coach and a manager. I'm very impressed that he learned German too. But after the games against Chelsea, he realised that we had our game plan, which was perfect for the players we had available. It worked perfectly and Pep respected that. Maybe the disappointment of losing the game made him say those things, but I'm not even sure he said those things because he's very objective and humble. (Di Matteo is correct; he didn't say it in 2012. Though Guardiola did say it in 2009 after Barça vs Chelsea).
Who was next in line to take a penalty in Munich? Is it true you asked Fernando Torres but he said he didn't want to? Also, were you under pressure from above to play him?
Tim Leigh, Stoke
I'm not going to disclose who was going to be the sixth penalty taker. And I was under no pressure to play or not play somebody.
What did you say to Roman Abramovich in Munich when you passed him on the steps after the game and grabbed him by the head? I’ve always wondered...
Charlie Ghagan, Staines
"We did it". He was very happy. I think he laughed.
Did any of the players take the mickey out of John Terry for his shin pads shenanigans in the Champions League celebrations?
Gary Potter, Cornwall
Not as far as I know. It was part of the celebrations.
Which spell at Chelsea did you enjoy more - your spell as a player or your spell as a manager?
Tom Rust, via Twitter
Nothing will ever replace the emotions you feel as a player, when you are directly involved on the pitch. You can make a result by scoring a goal, saving one or setting one up. Being a manager is completely different. You have a strategy, which you then have to let go to the players’ feet and heads. I had a great time as a player and a manager at Chelsea. The connection with the people and fans was special and we enjoyed a lot of success.
What now, Roberto? Would you consider managing in Italy?
Tim Doel, via Twitter
I'm open minded about my next project. I don't know what it is going to be. We'll see what the future holds. I'm blessed with languages - I speak German, English and Italian. I can get by in a couple of other languages. I'm taking a break this year and I've enjoyed that. When I work I get very involved.
Our One-on-One with Roberto originally featured in the April 2014 issue of FourFourTwo. Find loads more here.
More features every day on FFT.com • More interviews
featureThu, 02 Jun 2016 13:01:09 +0000Joe Brewin266117 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comPaul Ince: You could see Alli's talent aged 14 at Dons – but he can still be immature nowFormer MK Dons boss tellsFFTof his early sightings of the England and Spurs midfielder, ahead of Euro 2016...Chris Flanaganhttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/paul-ince-you-could-see-allis-talent-aged-14-dons-he-can-still-be-immature-now
Dele Alli had just turned 14 years old when Paul Ince departed MK Dons. But even then, the former Manchester United and England midfielder knew.
A product of the Dons’ academy, Alli was already starting to make himself known as a star of the future. Two years later a first-team debut followed, and the rest is history.
“I saw quite a bit of Dele when I was managing MK Dons,” Ince tells FFT.
“Myself and Karl Robinson would go to watch the young kids on a Tuesday night on the training ground, and there were a couple of players down there that we knew had half a chance of getting into the first team. Dele was one of them. You’d watch him for an hour and the potential was clear.”
Now, Alli is preparing to go into his first tournament with England as one of the Three Lions’ main men, despite still being only 20. His debut season with Spurs was so impressive that it earned him the PFA Young Player of the Year award, and Ince is certain that this is only the start.
“His rise has been really quick and one of the best things about him is his character,” says Ince, one of the midfield stars of Euro 96. “You can tell he’s got some inner strength and that’s helped him cope with moving up through the game quite quickly. He’s got a good mindset, he knows what he wants to achieve in the game and what he needs to do to get there.
“He’s still got a lot to learn and it’s important that we don’t get too carried away about him. Some of the stuff Dele does is very immature. He makes some silly tackles and he can kick out at people. That’s where he’s got to learn and improve.
“But he’s got potential to be anyone he wants to be. He reminds me a little bit of Steven Gerrard. He’s got a similar build, he can tackle, he makes great runs into the box – he’s a goalscoring midfielder, and we don’t get too many of those. Dele is clever and he’s got all the attributes to succeed, because he can do everything.”
Look lower
Tottenham paid an initial fee of just £5m to sign Alli from MK Dons 16 months ago, when the midfielder’s only first-team experience was at League One level. Ince believes it’s proof that managers should be paying more attention to rising stars in the Football League.
“His rise has been a good sign for me,” says Ince, who was speaking after joining up with Jimmy Bullard to film a spoof of the Godfather, as part of Carling’s Pay Per Inch promotion.
“What it says is that you don’t always have to go out and spend millions and millions on expensive foreign players. There are some very good players in the Championship and in League One, and maybe we don’t look at them enough. Jamie Vardy is another shining example of that fact.
“To be honest, it annoys me when you see Roy Hodgson going to so many Premier League games to watch the same old players. They know that these players are going to be in the squad, so I’d like to see him at more Championship games, trying to look at some more top English players that could do well, like Dele has.”
Interview: Nick Moore
Paul Ince has teamed up with Carling to celebrate Carling's Pay Per Inch promotion, giving you the chance to win a brand new TV for the price of its screen size. Visitwww.payperinchTV.comor check out #GameOfInches
More features every day on FFT.com • More interviews
featureTue, 31 May 2016 13:36:14 +0000Joe Brewin580866 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comDele Alli: “I wouldn’t say I’ve made it yet. I want to win the Champions League”The Tottenham midfielder didnt match expectations in the 2015-16 season - he smashed them. In less than 12 months, Europes hottest young talent rose from League One to the Champions League and Euro 2016, and, as he tells FourFourTwos James Maw, hes not done yet...James Mawhttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/dele-alli-i-wouldnt-say-ive-made-it-yet-i-want-win-champions-league
I didn’t realise how good it was until all the guys were talking about it in the changing room,” Dele Alli chirpily tells FourFourTwo while perched on the edge of a luxurious sofa. The water-cooler moment in question isn’t Netflix’s latest true crime brain-bender – no, he’s talking about a goal. Specifically, the goal he scored against Crystal Palace. Yes, that one.
“Obviously it was a great goal and I’m proud to have scored it, but I was surprised by the reaction,” Alli says with a shrug.
It certainly was a great goal. With Spurs toiling at 1-1, Alli controlled Christian Eriksen’s knock-down header with his first touch, used his second to loft the ball over his own shoulder and the onrushing Mile Jedinak, and then rifled a blistering volley into the bottom corner of the Palace net with his third.
“Me and one of the kitmen were doing a drill where you had to knee the ball over your head and volley it in,” the youngster explains, “so he was trying to take credit afterwards!”
“You can work on your finishing and whatever, but when you’re in the moment it’s all sort of natural.”
Some have called his strike the best goal seen at Selhurst Park since another prodigious English talent made a name for himself by scoring for the away side. David Beckham’s lob from the halfway line against Wimbledon back in August 1996 – four months after Alli was born – planted the 21-year-old Leytonstone lad into the nation’s consciousness. Alli’s goal, coming as it did in the age of videos going viral on social media, instantly made him an internet sensation the world over.
Alli remains modest when asked if his own Croydon cracker was better than Beckham’s. “Nope,” comes the reply, with a giggle and smirk that are fast becoming trademarks.
As alarming as it may sound to older readers, Beckham is no longer the primary reference point for young footballers across England. Becks left Manchester United for Real Madrid when Alli was just seven, and Spain for Los Angeles when he was 11.
“It was always more [Steven] Gerrard and Ronaldinho,” Alli explains when asked which players most influenced him in his even younger days. “A lot of kids my age loved Ronaldinho for his flair – you could see how much he loved the game. I can remember watching videos of him scoring overhead kicks and trying to recreate them myself, but never quite being able to do it.
“Steven Gerrard was someone I looked up to massively. I’d always try to copy him, right down to the boots he was wearing. It was his attitude on the pitch that stood out – you could really see how much he hated losing.
“The moment that stands out is the goal against West Ham in the [2006] FA Cup Final. It was a great moment in a huge game, and a great finish too. It’s one of the first goals I remember seeing.
“I had a picture with him when I was younger, but I’ve never spoken to him. I think he’d probably be the only person that would make me a bit star-struck!”
The carefree showmanship of Ronaldinho and the chest-thumping, never-say-die attitude of Steven Gerrard – fittingly, it’s not a bad way to define the on-pitch persona of a player who may well be world football’s most exciting youngster.
“As a young player you get a lot of guys trying to kick you. I don’t mind.”
FourFourTwo’s meeting with Tottenham’s No.20 comes less than 24 hours after starring in a 3-0 win at Norwich. Despite playing only 45 minutes of that match, Alli again underlined his importance to Spurs’ push for a Champions League berth by opening the scoring in the second minute, tucking home the rebound after Christian Eriksen’s low strike had been parried by the Canaries’ goalkeeper, Declan Rudd.
The rise has been notably steep. Ten months previously, he had been playing at Port Vale, Fleetwood and Rochdale as his hometown club MK Dons battled for promotion from League One (successfully, as it turned out).
From his humble beginnings in the Milton Keynes suburb of Bradwell, football has always been at the forefront of Alli’s mind.
“My first memory is playing football with all the boys back home in Milton Keynes, outside my old house,” Alli says with a wistful grin. “They used to stick me in goal and just smash balls at me. To start off with, I wanted to be a keeper, but every kid wants to be a striker really, so eventually I moved upfront.
“I also woke up early on Sunday mornings to go downstairs and watch Match of the Day. The first live game I went to was Wimbledon – when they played at the hockey stadium in Milton Keynes – against Chelsea’s reserves. I can’t remember too much about it, though.”
Alli joined MK Dons as an 11-year-old, just three years after the club’s controversial arrival in the town. He turned heads instantly.
“My first real recollection of Dele was a fixture away at Norwich during his first full season with us,” Mike Dove, Director of Youth at MK Dons, tells FFT. “We had some really good, exciting players in that particular age group, but what made Dele stand out was how much he loved having the ball at his feet and the way he was always trying to do new things. He was always doing keepy-uppies or trying little flicks and tricks,” Dove says. “To me that isn’t really showboating. I see it more as players expressing themselves.”
That freedom of expression has clearly had some benefits for Alli, whose approach to the game is akin to the ‘street baller’ commonly associated with the favelas or barrios of South America, rather than the quiet suburban sprawl of Milton Keynes. He’s bold, brash and adventurous. He takes risks and gets fans off their seats.
“Dele started training with the first team at 15,” MK Dons manager Karl Robinson reveals to FFT. “He has always had the ability to affect a game. Every level he’s played at, he’s played the same way, and been able to have the same impact. Not only was he unpredictable in some of the things he’d do with the ball, his work ethic was also phenomenal – he had an amazing ability to get around the football pitch. That’s maybe the thing people don’t talk about very much – his energy is ridiculous.”
The naturally athletic physique helps, of course, but that energy is borne out of an unadulterated enthusiasm for the game.
“I’ve always tried to enjoy myself playing football,” the youngster says. “Growing up playing a lot of football on the streets or on the courts, the nutmeg was always a thing that a lot of the boys tried to do. I’ve never wanted to take that out of my game. I want to enjoy and express myself, and that’s the way I try to do that.
“I remember, in one of my early sessions with MK Dons, they did this thing on a Friday where you’d vote for the worst trainer. I voted for Darren Potter because I’d nutmegged him in the session. Afterwards some of the boys told me to watch myself the next time we trained, but it was just a bit of a joke.”
The nutmeg has become something of a calling card for Alli. One stat-based Spurs account on Twitter has even been keeping a tally of the tyro’s trickery: at the time of writing, it’s 30 nutmegs. But with so many red-faced victims to choose from, who is Alli’s favourite?
“Luka Modric – it’s got to be,” he beams, recalling his bamboozling of the Real Madrid midfielder during a pre-season friendly in Munich. “When someone’s got a bit of flair, it feels a bit better to beat them.”
Beguiling a fellow playmaker or a tricky winger is one thing, but what about the game’s brutish defenders and midfield destroyers? Surely there’s a chance Alli could humiliate the wrong player and get a good whack for his troubles?
“A lot of [senior] players have had a little word with me because I laugh quite a lot on the pitch, just because I’m enjoying it. But it’s part of the game and you expect it. I don’t mind people trying to kick me.”
This is clearly a kid who knows how to have fun on the pitch. However, there’s another side to this particular coin. For every moment of magic, every seemingly impromptu flick or trick, there’s a flash of aggression, a glimpse of the fire within. Alli hasn’t been afraid to put himself about in his debut Premier League season, even squaring up to Norwich’s Russell Martin. And that’s the way it’s always been. MK Dons even brought a sin-bin system into their academy training sessions to curb the rookie midfielder’s enthusiasm. Their head of academy coaching, Dan Micciche – who is now working with the FA – came up with the plan and knows Alli better than most, having helped oversee his development from pre-teen to Football League Young Player of the Year.
“I used to get quite angry on the pitch,” Alli recalls of his early days, “so if I made a bad tackle or got a bit aggressive, Dan Micciche would say, ‘That would be a red card in a professional match’, and take me out of the session. That probably calmed me down a bit on the pitch. But I still play with a bit of anger.”
Mike Dove recalls Alli’s early signs of aggression: “The sin-bin system wasn’t just for Dele, but he’s got a competitive nature to him and we had to try and help him by giving him a little more structure and discipline. He had to know where the line was. Sometimes he’d have a little sulk if he didn’t get his way, or he’d be a little over the top with a challenge, so we had to tell him ‘this isn’t acceptable’.”
Although Alli and Dove both agree that the tough love dished out at youth level helped the youngster to keep a cooler head when things started to get heated, it by no means meant that he became a wallflower.
“When I first stepped up into the first team at MK I was flying into tackles straightaway,” Alli explains. “[MK Dons captain] Dean Lewington told me I had to keep that in my game and not shy away from it. It’s not something I’m looking to change.
“As a younger player coming through, particularly in League One, you get a lot of guys trying to kick you. A lot of the senior players told me I needed to be tough.”
But does this mean streak (or ‘devilment’, as Tim Sherwood christened it on Match of the Day) actually give Alli an edge as a footballer?
“You could say that,” Alli muses. “But that’s just me. I like to just go out there and be myself. Sometimes I get carried away with things, but I’m young and I’ve still got a lot to learn. [Mauricio Pochettino and I] have hada few chats about it. Hugo Lloris has been a great influence on me at Tottenham and he’s spoken to me about it, too. He told me not to let that aggressive side fall out of my game, so I’m just going to keep being myself.”
Even if he has occasionally sailed a little too close to the wind as far as some Premier League referees are concerned, it certainly hasn’t done him much harm so far.
“As soon as I heard Spurs were interested, I didn’t have to think about it too much”
Mike Dove recalls a key moment from Alli’s nascent career. “I have a memory of Dele being a first-year apprentice with me and going to an away game south of London to take on a team who played with a really low defensive block,” Dove says. “He was playing deeper in midfield, with acres of space, and I could see there was no challenge for him. He was bored so he started doing things he wouldn’t have done if he was under pressure. That was when I realised we had to challenge him – we needed to start pushing him. I spoke to the first team-staff and said: ‘We really need to push this boy’. It wasn’t long after that he started to train with the first team.”
From that point onwards, Alli’s ascension from youth team to first team came at breakneck speed. His senior debut came in a televised FA Cup First Round tie away to seventh-tier outfit Cambridge City. He was just 16 years and 205 days old.
“He came on at that age in a game live on television, where we were under huge pressure to avoid an upset, and he played just like he would at the park with his mates,” Robinson tells FFT. By that, the MK Dons boss means the debutant’s first touch as a professional footballer was a cheeky backheeled pass.
“Karl said a few words to me about it afterwards,” Alli chuckles, “but he laughed at the end, so it was all good. Just before I’d gone on, he told me to go out and express myself, and that was how I decided to do it.
“Karl and I still speak quite regularly. I spoke to him recently before they played Chelsea [in the FA Cup]. He’s a great manager and a great person as well. He helped me with a lot of personal stuff. When you’re a youngster it definitely helps if you’ve got someone you can trust and talk to whenever you need to talk – someone to look after you, almost. Karl definitely did that when I was at MK.”
The bond between Alli and Robinson is a strong one, the 35-year-old Scouser proving surprisingly malleable when it came to facilitating his young star’s eventual desire to up sticks and test himself in the bright lights of the Premier League.
“We spoke most days about what was going on – how he was feeling, where he wanted to go, and so on,” Robinson says. “Then, on a Friday night at the hotel before an away game at Crewe – it was when he was starting to get kicked by opposition players and had started to become fearful, possibly for the first time in his life – he said to me: ‘I think this is time to get something done’. I just wanted him to be the best he could be.”
Things moved quickly – a recurring theme in Alli’s development. By the Monday evening he had signed for Tottenham, although he would remain at MK Dons on loan for the remainder of the season – at the player’s insistence, according to Robinson. Alli explains: “My family and my agent, Rob Segal, decided what would be best for me in terms of settling in at Tottenham, and planned it all carefully with both of the clubs. I let the people around me sort those things out.”
Thinking back to a saga that will have been unquestionably alien for a quiet 18-year-old, Alli shrugs. “I don’t really read the papers that much,” he says. “I knew what was going on, but I had great support and they didn’t let me get too carried away with things. Obviously it was hard not to get too excited at times, but I didn’t really want to hear about the interest until it was really serious.”
The interest was not only serious – it was widespread. Spurs faced competition from Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle United and reportedly even Bayern Munich for the League One tyro.
“As soon as I heard Tottenham were interested, I didn’t have to think about it too much,” Alli enthuses. “One of the biggest things about Spurs was the manager. When I was looking to leave MK, I looked for a manager that had the same sort of philosophy as Karl Robinson. As a youngster you’re looking to break through, and moving up to the Premier League was a big step so I knew it was important to find another manager who wasn’t afraid to play youngsters in big games.
“You can see the number of young players that [Pochettino] has brought through at Tottenham. I spoke to a couple of the boys there and they all said great things about him. It’s a massive club and I can definitely see us going forward, so it’s a great place to be.”
With the distracting business of a big-money transfer out of the way, Alli was free to return to leading his club’s promotion push. Sixteen goals from midfield earned the youngster a place in the PFA League One Team of the Year and helped the Buckinghamshire club into the second tier, much to Alli’s delight. “When I went back, there was a bit of banter – a few jokes, the kind of thing you expect – but it was really important that I got it out of my head that I was a Tottenham player. I was looking only to help MK get promoted, and thankfully we did that.
“Going back there, staying focused and working as hard as I could was a big thing for me, and a good way to repay them.”
"Hopefully one day I’ll be the perfect person who can cook, clean and wash up!"
“To be honest, before he came here, I didn’t really know him,” defender Jan Vertonghen admitted after Tottenham’s 3-1 win over Aston Villa in November, a game in which Alli scored his first goal at White Hart Lane. “But this guy has impressed everyone since the first day we met. I think he has a great future. Hopefully he stays with us for a very long time; he is a great player [and a] great guy.”
The Belgian hasn’t been the only senior member of the Tottenham squad singing his new team-mate’s praises this season.
“I started to follow him [after the transfer] and heard a lot of positive things,” captain Hugo Lloris told TalkSport in January. “In the club we only knew that we had a great English talent. But he deserves [the plaudits] because of his mentality, and if he keeps the same spirit he will be a great English player.”
So his new Spurs team-mates are clearly impressed. What about away from the action? Moving from the suburbs to the bright lights of London at such a young age can’t be easy, especially when you’re balancing that with your first season of top-flight football.
Despite admitting he has still never used a washing machine and is no dab hand in the kitchen, Alli seems content with his new life.
“It’s been good,” he nods. “I’ve had a lot of support that has made it easy to make the move, but I still struggle with cooking. I can do scrambled eggs but I have to use the microwave. I plan to learn, eventually, but they’ve got a great chef at Tottenham and he cooks me meals to take home.
“I’ve got a lot to learn – not just on the pitch, but off the pitch as well. Hopefully one day I’ll be the perfect person who can cook and clean and wash up,” he laughs.
“It’s quite intense in the Premier League, so I like to relax as much as I can. A lot of the boys at Tottenham are on Call of Duty at the minute – it gets very competitive. There are about 15 of us who play online: Jan Vertonghen, Toby [Alderweireld], Walks [Kyle Walker]... Nabil [Bentaleb] has just started playing, too, but he’s not that great. I’d say Eric Dier is the worst, though.”
The defender-come-midfielder raised in Portugal is, by Alli’s own admission, the butt of a lot of the Buckinghamshire boy’s jokes. Alli tells FFT that Dier is the club’s worst gamer, but also the worst dressed (“None of his clothes fit him”) and the worst dancer (“It’s horrendous; I’m trying to teach him”), and he recently began attempts – tongue planted firmly in cheek – to arrange a bout between 22-year-old Dier and Olympic boxing champion Anthony Joshua. Yet he also says his colleague in the Spurs midfield is his best friend at the club. “He’s a good guy and a great player,” Alli says enthusiastically. “We have been close ever since I joined. I think he’s going to be a friend for life.”
That bond has served the pair well this season. The duo both earned first senior England call-ups thanks to a string of fine displays as the deep-lying midfield two in Mauricio Pochettino’s 4-2-3-1 system.
However, Alli has also spent time further forward, acting as the team’s primary creative force – the No.10 tucked in behind Harry Kane. Where does Alli see his future? “I’m happy to play anywhere,” he tells FFT. “If I’m playing as the No.10 it’ll help me a lot for when I move back into the more defensive role.”
With both Alli and Dier thriving in north London this season, along with several of their young team-mates, it has become increasingly clear that Mauricio Pochettino has the knack of getting the very best out of promising young players. Ten of the 18 players to have made their England debut since the Argentine arrived in the Premier League in January 2013 have done so after playing for the former Espanyol boss at either Southampton or Spurs. But what makes him so good?
“He tells you how it is, and we have that kind of relationship where you feel you can talk to him about anything,” Alli reveals. “It’s really important, particularly for a youngster, to have a manager who not only has faith in you, but who you can speak to about whatever you need to.
“Obviously it’s still early stages at Tottenham – I’ve not been there that long! – but you can see all the players really trust him. He doesn’t just want to make everyone the best player; he wants to bring them out as a person as well.”
Not that Alli has ever needed too much help when it comes to the mental side of the game.
“We had a guy at MK to help with stuff like that,” he says, “but I didn’t see him much because I’ve always been quite confident in my own ability. I’m very different off the pitch to what I’m like on it, though – I’m not quite as fiery!
“You have to be confident in yourself. You can’t be scared when you go out there. It can be quite daunting, especially for a 19-year-old moving away from home and into London, but you have got to be strong, believe in yourself and express yourself as much as you can. You don’t have to believe you are the best, but you definitely have to believe that you can become the best. I want to be as good as I can be and achieve as much as I can.”
“I can’t get carried away. I definitely wouldn’t say I’ve made it yet…”
But could those potential achievements include this season’s Premier League title? February’s 1-0 win against Watford – in which Alli created the winner 176 seconds after appearing as a second-half substitute – saw Spurs move second in the table. It was followed by that tenacious 2-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium. In a season where it seems anything could happen, could one of those things be Spurs finishing top of the pile?
“We’re still quite relaxed about it,” Alli says. “It’s not impossible, but we don’t want to get too carried away – that’s when things can go downhill. We’re a very ambitious squad, we have great depth, so anything’s possible – we just need to win as many games as we can.”
But it’s not just success at club level that should be in his sights.
“I didn’t really expect it, to be honest,” Alli says of his first senior England call-up, for October’s Euro 2016 qualifying double-header against Estonia and Lithuania. “We were in Monaco the day before our Europa League game there, and the manager [Pochettino] took me to one side and said: ‘Would you like to go away with England Under-19s?’ It’s an honour to go away with your country at any age group, so obviously I said I would go. Then he said: ‘Actually, I think you are going away with the senior team’. He just wanted to see my reaction!
“I didn’t want to think about it too much until after the Monaco game, but it was a bit hard to keep it all in.”
Typically unfazed, Alli says he was “excited rather than nervous” when thrown into the mix after 88 minutes of England’s 2-0 win over Estonia – his full debut for his country. Similarly, when the ball fell invitingly to his feet some 25 yards from goal in the friendly against France a month later, the youngster wasn’t at all flustered – despite the fact his club captain and friend, Hugo Lloris, stood between him and a first international goal.
“It’s another one of those things – it just happens in a moment and you don’t really think about it until afterwards,” Alli says. “As soon as it dropped to me I knew I was hitting it, and fortunately I caught it cleanly and it went in. Hugo and I had a joke about it afterwards. Obviously he was happy for me – he’s a great guy and he’s helped me a lot since I came to Tottenham – but it did make it a bit sweeter to score against him. I’ve not mentioned it to him in a while, actually. I’ll drop it in again soon.”
Given Alli’s impressive form this season, a spot in Roy Hodgson’s squad for Euro 2016 looks a near-certainty, injury permitting.
“I’ve thought about it a number of times,” Alli says of his potential summer sojourn to France. “But I can’t afford to get carried away. If I want to get picked I’ve got to keep my place in the Tottenham team, and keep trying to improve. I need to work on my left foot – that’s one of my biggest weaknesses. I’m staying after training with a few of the boys and doing some long and short passing to work on that.”
So quickly has he pulled up a seat and made himself comfortable at football’s top table, it is to Alli’s credit that he remains level-headed. Not that he isn’t hugely ambitious.
“I definitely wouldn’t say I’ve made it yet,” he tells us. “I’ve still got so much to achieve. I’m extremely grateful for everything that’s happened so far, but I’m still just looking to improve. In the next five years, I want to be a regular starter for England and I want to win the Champions League. “With Spurs, of course.”
Photography: Shamil Tanna
Special thanks to Impact Sports Management
This interview originally featured in the April 2016 issue of FourFourTwo magazine. Subscribe.
More features every day on FFT.com • More Tottenham
featureMon, 25 Apr 2016 09:37:00 +0000James Maw564438 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comFootball League Review: York City, Colchester United and MK Dons relegatedYork City, Colchester United and MK were all suffered relegation on Saturday as the Football League heads towards its climax.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/football-league-review-york-city-colchester-united-and-mk-dons-relegated
MK Dons were relegated from the Championship, Colchester United dropped into League Two and York City will play non-League football next season after Saturday's results.
A 4-1 defeat at home to Brentford meant the Dons' stay in the second tier lasted just one season, with Karl Robinson's side joining Bolton Wanderers and Charlton Athletic in League One next term.
Colchester were demoted after their 3-0 home loss against promotion-chasing Burton Albion, while York's 3-0 defeat at Accrington Stanley saw them drop out of the Football League just four years after winning promotion.
In the Championship, Middlesbrough's 0-0 draw against Ipswich Town and Brighton and Hove Albion's win at already relegated Charlton Athletic means the top three have 87 points apiece.
It is Burnley – winners on Friday against Preston North End – who lead on goal difference, with Boro second and Brighton third.
A last-gasp Cardiff City win over Bolton Wanderers kept the Welsh club's play-off hopes alive, with sixth-placed Sheffield Wednesday having drawn 1-1 at fellow high-flyers Derby County.
Hull City, meanwhile, stayed fourth after a 2-2 draw against Leeds United.
League One leaders Wigan Athletic all but confirmed their promotion to the Championship by beating Southend United 4-1 at home, with Will Grigg scoring a first-half brace.
Scunthorpe United's 2-0 win at Peterborough United moved them to within two points of the play-offs, where Barnsley occupy the final spot following a goalless draw at fellow top-six hopefuls Sheffield United.
Doncaster Rovers maintained their survival hopes by beating Coventry City 2-0 at home, while Blackpool's 0-0 draw against Fleetwood Town keeps them in the relegation zone.
The fight for promotion from League Two intensified as Accrington's win was coupled with victories for Oxford United and Bristol Rovers, while Plymouth Argyle were stunned by rock-bottom Dagenham and Redbridge, who prevailed 3-2 at Home Park.
AFC Wimbledon's fifth consecutive win a – 1-0 at home to Leyton Orient – moved them a step closer to wrapping up a play-off spot, with eighth-placed Cambridge United five points back despite a 2-1 win at manager Shaun Derry's former club Notts County.
news_articleSat, 23 Apr 2016 17:15:15 +0000Anonymous563823 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comFootball League Review: Brighton close gap as Middlesbrough draw at BurnleyBrighton and Hove Albion moved two points off the Championship promotion places after Middlesbrough drew 1-1 at Burnley on Tuesday.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/football-league-review-brighton-close-gap-middlesbrough-draw-burnley
Michael Keane's injury-time equaliser earned Burnley a point at home to Middlesbrough on Tuesday, as Brighton and Hove Albion took full advantage of the top two drawing by recording another big win to close the gap.
Former Blackburn Rovers striker Jordan Rhodes put Aitor Karanka's Middlesbrough into a 70th-minute lead at Turf Moor and they looked set for a seventh straight league win, but Keane produced his second late leveller in five games, having recently rescued a 2-2 draw for Burnley at Brighton.
Middlesbrough's lead at the top is just two points after Brighton piled on the pressure and drew level on points with Burnley after an easy 4-0 home win against QPR followed their 5-0 hammering of Fulham last time out.
Sean Dyche's Burnley, now unbeaten in 20 league games, are in action before their rivals at the weekend with a trip to Preston North End on Friday giving them a chance to temporarily claim top spot, while Middlesbrough host Ipswich Town and Brighton travel to Charlton Athletic on Saturday.
Hull City and Derby County both won to confirm their places in the play-offs, with Steve Bruce's side 2-1 victors at Reading.
Derby won a five-goal thriller 3-2 at Bristol City.
A 0-0 draw at home against Milton Keynes Dons edges Sheffield Wednesday, who had Ross Wallace sent off in the closing minutes, closer to confirming sixth spot and their play-off place.
Wednesday's cushion from Cardiff City - who lost 2-1 at Brentford - is now six points with three games remaining, while MK Dons are almost certainly relegated as they are now nine points adrift.
A 0-0 draw at already-relegated Bolton Wanderers sealed the fate of Charlton Athletic, whose relegation to League One was confirmed as they are now 11 points off safety.
League One's top two sides Wigan Athletic and Burton Albion drew 1-1 at the Pirelli Stadium, with third-placed Walsall unable to take advantage of that result, also drawing 1-1 at home against Swindon Town.
Millwall's 1-0 home win over Fleetwood Town, secured by Steve Morison's strike shortly after half-time, moves the former to six points behind Burton, while Bradford City and Gillingham occupy the division's other play-off places.
Colchester United's 1-1 draw at already-relegated Crewe Alexandra does little for their own survival hopes and they are now eight points adrift, while Doncaster Rovers and Blackpool remain in the other relegation places after they also failed to win on Tuesday.
Accrington Stanley moved into second place in League Two, behind champions Northampton Town, after their 2-1 victory at Hartlepool United, with Oxford United dropping to third after their 1-1 draw at Newport County.
Cambridge United's 7-0 thrashing of Morecambe boosted their slim play-off hopes, with Harrison Dunk and Luke Berry each scoring a brace, while at the bottom York City kept their faint hopes of remaining in the Football League alive with a 3-1 home win against promotion-chasing Portsmouth, but Jackie McNamara's side are nine points behind Newport with three games left.
news_articleTue, 19 Apr 2016 21:49:28 +0000Anonymous562047 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comFootball League Review: Middlesbrough, Burnley win to lead ChampionshipDagenham and Redbridge were relegated from the Football League, while Middlesbrough and Burnley won at the top of the Championship.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/football-league-review-middlesbrough-burnley-win-lead-championship
Middlesbrough and Burnley both won to maintain their momentum in the Championship promotion race, while Dagenham and Redbridge were relegated from the Football League and Northampton Town won the League Two title on Saturday.
Championship leaders Middlesbrough came from behind to win 2-1 at already-relegated Bolton Wanderers in the day's early kick-off.
Jordan Rhodes scored twice, including an injury-time winner, to seal Middlesbrough's sixth straight win, which earned Aitor Karanka's side a cushion at the top of the table, but their lead was reduced to two points by Burnley's 2-1 win at Birmingham City.
George Boyd put Sean Dyche's Clarets ahead and Andre Gray's 24th goal of the season secured the points, extending Burnley's unbeaten run to 19 league matches, with Jon Toral sent off in the closing minutes.
That win lifted Burnley above Brighton and Hove Albion - who beat Fulham 5-0 on Friday night - and into second place ahead of a crucial home game against Middlesbrough on Tuesday.
A 1-1 draw at home to Ipswich Town saw Sheffield Wednesday take a step towards sealing a play-off place, with 16-year-old Andre Dozzell scoring on his debut for Mick McCarthy's side.
Cardiff City's 0-0 home draw with Queens Park Rangers dented their top-six hopes, as Russell Slade's men have a five-point gap to make up on Wednesday with four games to play.
Charlton Athletic are 11 points from safety after a 1-0 defeat to Derby County, Johnny Russell scoring the winner for the fifth-placed Rams.
Milton Keynes Dons battled to a 1-1 draw at Preston North End but they are now nine points inside the drop zone, although makeshift goalkeeper Alex Revell saved Joe Garner's penalty after Cody Cropper was sent off.
A shock 3-1 loss at relegation-threatened Doncaster Rovers cut Wigan Athletic's lead at the top of League One, with second-placed Burton Albion closing the gap to three points after a 0-0 home draw against Barnsley.
Walsall heaped pressure on the top two and reduced Burton's advantage to three points, Jordy Hiwula's late goal sealing a 1-0 home win against Southend United.
League Two leaders Northampton Town were crowned champions after a 0-0 draw at Exeter City confirmed top spot, with two points separating the next four teams in the division.
Oxford United lost 3-2 at home to Luton Town, with Bristol Rovers moving into third thanks to their 2-1 win against Yeovil Town. Accrington Stanley dropped out of the promotion places with a 2-2 draw in a Lancashire derby at home against Morecambe, Plymouth Argyle's 2-1 win at Portsmouth keeping them in the race.
Dagenham and Redbridge's nine-year stay in the Football League was ended by their 3-2 defeat at Leyton Orient, while 10-man York City's 2-1 loss at Hartlepool leaves Jackie McNamara's side on the edge, 11 points from survival with four games to play.
news_articleSat, 16 Apr 2016 17:34:07 +0000Anonymous560525 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comFootball League Review: Middlesbrough a point off the top, Bolton in deep troubleMiddlesbrough closed on Burnley, Bolton Wanderers inched closer to the drop and Hull City were thrashed by Derby County on Tuesday.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/football-league-review-middlesbrough-point-top-bolton-deep-trouble
Middlesbrough moved to within a point of the Championship summit with a 3-0 victory over Huddersfield Town on Tuesday.
Gaston Ramirez scored twice after Grant Leadbitter's penalty to send Aitor Karanka's side to within touching distance of leaders Burnley, who were held to a 0-0 home draw by Cardiff City.
Brighton are just two points off the top thanks to their 2-1 win away to Birmingham City, but Hull City's hopes of automatic promotion were dealt a damaging blow as they lost 4-0 to play-off hopefuls Derby County.
At the other end of the table, Bolton Wanderers' 3-1 loss away to Brentford means they will be relegated if they lose to Derby at the weekend.
Charlton Athletic's goalless draw with Ipswich Town means they are likely to join them in League One next season.
Elsewhere, Leeds United were held 1-1 at Elland Road by QPR, Fulham beat Preston 2-1 and Bristol City drew 1-1 with Rotherham United to leave both looking nervously over their shoulders at the bottom three.
There were also 2-1 victories for Wolves away to MK Dons, Sheffield Wednesday against Blackburn Rovers and Reading at home to Nottingham Forest.
Fleetwood Town climbed out of the bottom four in League One thanks to a 2-0 win over mid-table Peterborough United.
They remain just a point above the relegation places, however, with Oldham Athletic having picked up a valuable 2-0 win over Swindon Town.
Veteran Jamie Cureton hit the winner as Dagenham and Redbridge beat Morecambe 2-1 to keep their faint hopes of avoiding relegation from League Two alive, while Carlisle United moved to within a point of the play-offs thanks to a solitary Hallam Hope goal against Hartlepool United.
Stevenage and Yeovil Town took a step towards safety after playing out a 0-0 draw.
news_articleTue, 05 Apr 2016 23:03:55 +0000Anonymous555610 at http://www.fourfourtwo.com